We are driving from Boston to Duck, NC on July 19th (a friday). We want to stop and sleep one night in either Fredericksburg or Williamsburg....or somewhere in between. We want something decent for under $100 and alot of people are telling me we don't need a reservation - - that there are loads of places to stay along the highway. Is this true? Is Frederickburg considerably cheaper to stay than Williamsburg? Is it worth sepnding only about 6 hours in Williamsburg when there is so much to see there? That's about all the time we will ahve there. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Since Williamsburg is SO popular and summer vacations are in full swing, I would think that everywhere would be full/busy and you need to book in advance.Better to book and not need to,than to not book and be turned away.

Have you considered Richmond? If you are going to Williamsburg, it's not that far. I assume that you're coming down I-95. You'd take I-64 East to Williamsburg, and there are apt to be hotels off of I-64 near the Richmond Airport that would probably meet your price range. I would make a reservation, if for nothing other than the peace of mind knowing for sure you'll have a place you want to stay.

And I think you could get a good overview of Colonial Williamsburg in 6 hours. You wouldn't see all of it, but you'd probably be happy with what you do get to see.

Don't stay at the Holiday Inn Fredericksburg, we made that mistake a few years back, yuck!

I'd recommend making a reservation somewhere that has a 6pm day-of-arrival cancellation policy, then you'll have something to fall back on. If you find something you like better along the way, cancel the first reservation.

Actually, if you're going from Boston to Duck, you won't go right through Richmond. There's a bypass that takes you around Richmond (you'll probably take 95 to 295 to 64 and skirt around the city of Richmond), and 295 causes you to miss many of the motels in Richmond's suburbs. I'd recommend one of two options:
1. Stop in Fredericksburg. It's cheap and there are a lot of hotels along I-95.
2. Stop in Doswell, near Kings Dominion. It's about 25 miles north of Richmond on 95, and there are several hotels there. They're not deluxe accommodations, but if you're only sleeping there it should be adequate.

Try the Lightfoot exit off of 64. Its the exit before the Williamsburg exit and hotels will be cheaper there and only 15 min from Williamsburg. They built a new hotel there a couple of years ago. It is either a Quality Inn or Days Inn. You will be able to find a room without a reservation but you'll probably have to do some hopping around town. Hotels on Capitol Landing Road, there is a Holiday Inn, may also be cheaper and more available.

The hotels in Fredericksburg are off I95 at the rt 17 west exit before you cross the Rappahannock River bridge.... Pretty noisay area. Others are north on rt 1 at the rt 17 east exit, but you have to backtrack on rt 1 to reach them. Better to drive another 35-40 minutes to Doswell as the poster above suggests.